Air conditioner



Jan. 19, 1937. D. E. STUMP JR AIR coNbITI NER Filed Jan. 4, 1956 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 Jaw/12s 15 822mg J My AIR coNbITI N R Filed Jan. 4, 1936 2 Shee t$ -Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR CONDITIONER Dennis E. Stump, Jr., Denver, Colo. Application January 4, 1936, Serial No. 57,608

1 Claim.

This invention relates to air conditioners and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character which will be simple, durable and compact so that the device may be employed on motor vehicles for either heating or cooling the occupants compartment of said vehicle and which may be manufactured and sold at a low cost.

With these and other objects in view, this invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, illustrating an air conditioner constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view illustrating the same.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating the device.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral I indicates a suitable support which may be conveniently mounted within the occupant compartment of a motor vehicle or within a room or a building wherein it is desired to condition the air. While this invention is capable of use in many places for the purpose of conditioning'air, it is primarily adaptable for a motor vehicle. The support includes front and rear walls 2 and 3 and a bottom wall 4. The rear wall 3 is bolted or otherwise secured to the motor vehicle while the bottom wall 4 is supported by an adjustable brace 5 secured to the motor vehicle. The front wall 2 has an opening in which is mounted a radiator 6, the core being indicated at 1. The radiator'is of the type wherein either liquid or gas may be passed therethrough and air may be caused to pass through the core for the purpose of either heating the air or cooling the air. The circulation of the air through the core is by the rotation of a fan 8 driven by an electric motor 9. The electric motor is connected in an electric circuit of the motor vehicle and controlled by a suitable switch (not shown). Arranged in front of the core of the radiator is a screen III for the purpose of removing foreign matter from the air passing from the core of the radiator. Connected to the upper and lower ends of the radiator 6 are pipes II having control valves I2. The pipes II are adapted to be connected to the cooling system of the engine of the motor vehicle so that when the valves I2 are opened heated water may pass through the radiator 6 and with the electric motor in operation air will be driven through the core of the radiator so as 5 to absorb the heat from the fluid passing through the radiator and thereby become heated for the purpose of heating the occupant compartment of the motor vehicle. The valves I2 may be closed when it is desired to discontinue the heat- 10 ing of the motor vehicle and the radiator drained of the liquid by removing a drain plug I3. After the emptying of the radiator the 'plug I3 is replaced.

A pipe I4 has one end connected to the upper end of the radiator 6 and the other end to a regulating valve I5. The regulating valve I5 is connected to the discharge end of a storage tank I6 which is suitably mounted on the support I. The inlet of the tank I6 has connected thereto a check valve H which is in turn connected to a pipe I8, a portion of which is of coiled formation to provide a condenser coil located outwardly of the vehicle to be air cooled. The other end of the pipe I8 is connected to a pump I9. The pump I9 is carried by the support I and is preferably of the'rotating type and the inlet thereof is connected to a pipe which is in turn connected to the lower end of the radiator 6. The pipe 20 has a cutoff valve 2I. A belt 22 is employed between the electric motor 9 and the pump. To convert this device from a heating means to a cooling means, the pipes II are closed by the valves I2 and the tank I6, radiator 6 and pipes connecting the latter to the tank I6 are filled with a gas or liquid refrigerant. The device thus converted will produce an aircooling means by starting the electric motor 9, which drives the pump I9. The valve I5 is adjusted to regulate the escape of 0 the refrigerant from the tank I6, the pump ting to compress the refrigerant in the tank I 6.- The refrigerant under pressure in the tank I6 escapes to the pipe I4 and to the radiator 6 where it expands and absorbs heat from the air driven through the radiator core by the fan 8 so that the air leaving the radiator core will be chilled for the purpose of lowering the temperature in the occupant compartment of the vehicle. 50

A device of this character is compact, simple and durable and may be readily adapted to a motor vehicle now inuse for the purpose of conditioning the, air to the occupant compartment either heating the air or chilling the air, 55

depending in which time of the year the device is in use. Due to the simplicity and compactness of this device its cost of manufacture and installation will be reduced to a minimum.

Having described the invention, I claim:

An air conditioner comprising a support including spaced vertically arranged walls and a connecting bottom wall and one of said vertical walls having an opening, a radiator including a core mounted in said opening so that air may circulate through the core, a fan for circulating the air through the core, an electric motor for driving said fan and carried by one of the vertical walls, pipes for circulating a heated fluid taken from a cooling system of an engine through the radiator and passing through one of the vertical walls and supported thereby. valves in the pipes for discontinuing the circulation of heated fluid through the radiator, a pump carried by the connecting bottom wall and connected to the radiator and driven by said motor, a storage tank carried by said support, a pipe connecting the 'pump to said tank and including an expansion coil located outwardly of the support, means connecting the tank to the radiator, a regulating valve in said last means, a cutofi valve between the pump and the radiator, and a checkyvalve between the pump and the tank. DENNIS E. STUMP, JR. 

